The Mayor of Grand Forks assured City Council and everyone attending the Oct. 6 Regular meeting that he and management at Interfor are working on mitigating the sudden shutdown and keeping the public informed on the situation.
It’s no secret Interfor has shut down its Grand Forks Operations, said Everett Baker in his report to Council, but over the past few days there had been many rumours over the reasons and duration.
“I have spoken to (mill manager) Dave Parsons who said that due to the current market conditions and another 10 per cent duty on softwood lumber, bringing it to 45 per cent, the mill has shut down indefinitely,” Baker said. “However, I have been informed this is not a permanent closure, this is strictly a shutdown. THis includes the contractors and labourers that work at the mill.”
The news was of grave concern for himself and city administration, as it will cause a trickle-down effect to other businesses, not to mention so many people out of work. However, he stressed he didn’t want to cause a panic as city administration, mill management, regional, provincial and federal governance work together to mitigate the fallout.
“I’ve already had some people ask me about this and I said we are following the process,” he said. “Fortunately, we have other industries, like Boundary Electric and their expansion, Rockwool and Pacific Abrasives. I want to assure the public I have my finger on the pulse of this and will continue to keep council informed on this transition.”
He added they will be heading into budgeting and strategic planning in the coming months. By then they will have a clearer picture of where the mill is standing and if and when it will reopen in the foreseeable future.
Once it was confirmed, which he said in previous comments to the Gazette was around Friday, he reached out to Boundary Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson and Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay MP Helena Konanz, who told him they will be bringing this to their respective legislatures. Baker has also spoken to Premier David Eby, Ravi Parmar, B.C. Minister of Forests, MLA Brittny Anderson, Parliamentary Secretary Steve Morissette and the nearest Federal MP cabinet minister, Stephen Fuhr (Kelowna, Secretary of State, Defense Procurement.)
Closer to home, Baker explained he’s spoken to the RDKB and Area D Director Linda Kay Weise and the Boundary Services Committee, with both stating they would support the city and all affected by the shutdown any way they can. He’s also reached out to other social services and nonprofits in the region, including the Boundary Food Hub and The Boundary Community Food Bank.
He also reached out to Larry Olson, Government of B.C. Regional Manager for Economic Development and Community Transition to ask for his team to come help affected employees.
Despite this sudden shutdown, Baker said he will continue to advocate strongly for the region’s forest industry.
“I communicated this to Dave, assuring him our partnership is strong,” he said.
